Refrigeration apparatus



E. R. SAGE. REFRIGERATION APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 4, 1920.

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E. .R. SAGE.

REFRIGERATION APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED Nov. 4, 1920.

1,430,263 e Patented Sept. 26, 1922.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

'"A TTORNEYS E. R. SAGE.

REFRIGERATION APPARATUS.

- APPLICATION FILED Nov.4, 1920.

Patented Sept. 26, 1922..

f5 SHEETS-SHEET a.

A TTORNEYJ E1 R. SAGE. REFRIGERATION APPARATUS.-

APPLICATION FILED NOV-4,1920. 1,430,263. Patented Sept. 26,1922.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

dfm lll/Sage A TTORNEYS INVENTOR.

E. R. SAGE.

REFRIGERATIONVAPPARATUS. l APPLICATION FILED Nov. 4. 1920.

Patented Sept. 26,1922.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

Moron Hna nur my mwen VALVE HA TTORNEY5 Patented Sept. 26, 1922.

UNITED STATES PATENT omer..

EDWIN R. SAGE, 0F BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

BEFRIGERATION APPARATUS.

. Application led November 4, 1920. Serial No. 421,688.

To all who', it may concern Be it kno 'n that I, EDWIN R. SAGE, acitizen of the United States, and a resident of Baltimore, Maryland,have invented certain' new and-useful Improvements in Refrigera tionApparatus, of which the following is a specification.

My present invention relates to improve,

ments in refrigerating machines designed to operate by the evaporationof waterl thougn not limited to the use of this particular liq uid, andaims to produce an apparatus of struction and arrangement andcombinationof parts hereinafter described and particularl defined by the appendedclaims.

y invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which, forconvenience and one manner of use I have shown it as embodied ina'refrigerator of the household type, it being understood, however, thatI do not limit myself to such use.

In these drawings- Figure 1 is an elevation of a complete refrigeratingapparatus.

Fig. 2' is a sectional elevation on a larger scale, of the compressorand condenser, or high pressure unit..

ig. 3 is altranseverse section on line 3.--3 of Flg. 2. l

Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional detail ofthe Water 'jet air pump.

Fig. 5 ,is an enlarged detail view in elevation of t e motor controlunit;

Fig. 5a is a section on line arr-w of Fig. 5.

Fig. 6 is a transverse vertical section, on'

line 6 6 on a larger scale than Fig. 1,

through the evaporator or low pressure unit,

which in the embodiment shown, is in the sha of a refrigerator chamber.

1 7 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the eIectric circuits orconnections'.

Referring by reterence characters to these drawings, the numeral 1designates the refrigerator chamber .which may be of any suitable sizeand shape and which -is rovided with three spaced walls indica spectivelat 1*, 1b and 19. Between the outer wal 1 and the next inner wall lhisplaced any suitable material which is a good eat insu ator, indicated atld.

The inner wall 1c is spaced from the wall 1b at sides, top and bottom,to provide a water chamber completely encircling the' cooling chamber,and is supported therefrom by struts 1B.

Doors 1t are provided for access to the cooling chamber, and shelves 1hmay be provided for the support of articles as is customary. Thelwall 1. is provided, upon its exterior face withV a series ofk closelyspaced trays c designed to be filled with water from the overfiow of theliquid from each next upper tray, the evaporation of the liquid servingto effect thecooling of the contents of the inner or cooling chamber.

The condenser or high pressure unit is indicated as a whole at 2 and isshown for convenience as mounted directly upon the of the low pressureunit 1.

It comprises a circular hollow hody-hav-- ing an annular inner 'wall 2which provides an inner chamber a, and an outer annular chamber a',these chambers being closed at the bottom, except for the pipeconnections hereinafter described. lSaid bottom closure.

or wall is provided with a central openingv in which' is located avertical -pipe 3, the lower end of which communicates by a 1pc 4 with aport formed in the bottom wa l of the chamber a.

Encircling the pipe 3 and rotatable thereabout but spaced therefrom toprovide a 'water overfiow passage 3, is the tubular hub 5a which is partof a hollow rotor 5 which rotor has an outwardly extending annular upperportion 5d provided vwith iui discharge. passa es indicated at 5.

.The inner en of these passages are substantially tangential tothe innerwall ofthe rotor; and from their. inner ends the as sages curve outwardlterminatin at t e1r outer ends substantially radially othe rotor Vasshown in Fig. 3.

assages lare e 1p referably elongated vertical y as shown.

he direction of rotation of the rotor is indicated'b'y the arrow,

Fig. the relationl of the such that as the rotor is rapl aages being dlyrotated liquid 'water will be'forced-into the passages q and dischargedtherefrom at. high velocity;

due to centrifugal action., 'i The wal1'2fcarries at its upperextremlty,

preferably formed integral therewith, an annularseries of diuserpassages at 6, which have their inner ends located in close proximit tothe exterior' surface of the upper portlon 5l of the rotor so as toreceive the fluid jets discharged therefrom.

These passages are' referably arrange/d at an angle to the ra ii of therotor, the

inclination being such thatpeach passage is in the same planeapproximately as the direction of the liquid discharged from-the rotorat the point of entrance of this passage and the said passages 6 areelongated vertically to correspond to those of the rotor.

The passages 6 discharge at their outer ends into the annular chamber orspace a.

Mounted inthe upper part of the compresser element 2 which serves as acasing therefor, is an electric motor of any approved design, the motorshaft of which is shown at 7, which is fast toan upwardly extending hubportion 5 of the rotor, said ro'tor being in fact preferably supportedfrom the motor shaft.

The wall 2 of the chamber a" is preferably carried upwardly andoutwardly to join the'outer wall of the compressor.

A pipe 8 connects the chamber a of the compressor or high pressure unitwith the water chamber of the refri rator unit.l u

A pipe 9 connects chamr a with ya suction pump by which, aftersuiiicient water has been charged into the system, all air may beremoved, the interior of the systembeing reduced to as near a perfectvacuum Ias ossible.

the embodiment of the invention shown in the drawings the suction ump ispreferably in the form of a h drau 'c ejector having a casing 10 with wich the pipe 9 connects, which casing is provided with a valve seat 10having a check valve-11, ac-

cess to which is permitted by the removable plug 10". The air pump is inthe shape of a water ejector nozzle 12 discharging into an alignedreceiving member 13, the air being drawn b the ejector action from theinterior of t e casing in the manner well understood by those skilled inthe art. The' member 13 is connected by pipeI 14'* with a cooling andcondensing coil 141ocated with- 1n the chamber a', the water dischargebe-` ing indicated at 14" whichl may deliver to waste at any convenientpoint` VThe ejector nbzzle 12 is connected by branch pipe 15 with watersupply pipe 15, which may be connected to a city main, and a branch pipe15b connects with the cham# ber a for supplying water thereto for thepurpose hereinafter described, said branch ppe 15" being vprovided witha cut-0H valve 0 The ejector nozzle 12 is provided at its upper -endwith a valve seat 12 with which cooperates a valve 16* which is carriedatthe lower end of a solenoid core 16 which is actuated by the solenoidcoil 17 which is referably provided with a magnet ame 18.

' A thermostat 19 within the refrigerator is used to control the currentthrou h the solenoid coils. When current is su p ied t'o coil 17 thecore is raised and t e valve opened, allowing water under pressure t0flow from the source of suppl tor nozzle. The jet passing rom the nozzleinto the member or. diffuser 13 draws air with it therebyo exhaustingthe air from the chamber a and hence from ,the refrigerating system.

to the ejec- Means are provided for automatically Y nected to adjustingscrew 23 guided in a suitable bracket and operated by thumb nut 24 tosecure suitable adjustment of the spring. Link 21 is also connected toone arm ofa lever 25 fulcrumed at 26. The opp osite arm of lever 25 haspivotall connected .thereto a guide rod 28 which s idably engages at its-outer end in an opening in the cross bar of the switch lever 29fulcrumed at 29, which switch lever carries insulated contact piece30'designed to cooperate with and electrically connect contactors 31.

Stops 32y are provided to limit the niove-l ment of the switch lever.Encircling the guide rod 28 is a compression spring 27 which bears atits inner end against a stop washer carried by the guide rod and at itsouter end against the cross bar. of the switch lever. 4

When no vacuum is resent in the chamber a', the pressure of t eispring22 through the lever 25 holds the switch arm in circuit breakingposition. When, however, the

vacuum in the system rises to a suicient degree the pull upon thediaphragm overcomes thetension of the spring 22 swings `lever 25 untilthe end against which spring 27 bears crosses the dead center, whereuponthe pressure of said spring 27 immediately forces the switch lever orarm 29 into circuit closing position.

From the foregoing description it is believed the operation of myimproved refrigerator system will be obvious, but it may be briefiystated as follows:

At the commencement of the operation water s admitted to the systemthrough pipe 4 and 3 back into the interior of t 15b by opening cock 15cand flows from lower one, and so on until all the trays are filled andalso the bottom of the outer container to the liquid level shown in thedrawings at which time the stop cock 15c is closed.

Electric current is now turned on which energizes the solenoid and opensthe valve 12a, starting the action of the air ejector to i'oduce vacuumin the system, it being undbrstood that the motor circuit is broken bythe motor control unit. When the proper degree of vacuum has beenproduced the motor circuit is closed and the electric motor startedwhich drives the rotor 5 at a high rate of speed. The vacuum within thesystem Vcauses the -water in the refrigerator trays to be vaporized andthe rapid rotation of the rotor causes the water in the rotor to beejected through `the assages 5 into the diffuser passages '6 in tllieform of sheets which draws vapor from the chamber a and through thecompressive action of tl'iejets andthe cooling action of the coilscondenses said vapor in chamber. a.

The condensed water flows throu h pipes ge rotor. The-vapor continues torise from the trays and be condensed by the rotor until the refrigeratorhas cooled sufficiently to cause the thermostat to break the motorcircuit.

Any water accumulated in the rotor above the -level of overflow passage3a will pass into chamber a and thence through pipe 8 .back to therefrigerator trays as rabove described.

Hav-ing thus described my invention, what I claim is: l 1. In a vacuumrefrigerating apparatus,

ra refrigerator unit having a closed chamber adapted to contain avolatilizable liquid, a closed condenser unit having a suctioncompartment and a` condensing compartment, said condenser unit having.its suc-v tion compartment only 'connected with said refrigerator unit,a 4rotary ejector arranged in said suction comdpartment adapted tof drawva or from sai suction compartment and deliver 1t into said condensingcompartment, and means for conveying condensed liquid fromsaidcondensing compartment directly to said rotary injector.

2. In a vacuum refrigeratinga paratus, a refrigerator unit having aclose compartment adapted to contain a volatilizable liquid, a yclosedcondensing unit having a central vapor compartment, and an annularcondensin chamber, said condensing unitA vhaving said centralcompartment only communicating with the said compartment Vof fa'refrigerator unit havin the refrigerator unit, a hollow rotor journaledin said vapor compartment having peripheral ejector discharge passages,means for maintainin a determinedliquid level in said rotor, and meanslfor returning condensed liquid from the condenser chamber to theinterior of the rotor.

" 3. In a vacuum refrigerating apparatus,

a closed compartment adapted to contain a volatilizable liquid, a closedcondenser unit having a central vapor chamber and` an' annular condenserchamber, said condenser unit hav` ing its central vapor chamber only-connected with said closed refrigerator compartment, a standpipe insaid central cham- Aber having its lower end connected to the llowerpart of said condensing chamber to withdraw condensed liquid therefrom,a hol- Vlow rotor mounted to rotate about saidstandpipe and having atubular hub spaced from said lstandpipe and adapted to constitute aliquid overflow, said rotor having ejector passages andthe wall of saidvapor chamber having diffuser passages into which said ejector passa sdischarge. 4

4. In 4 apparatus of t e class described, a refrigerator unit havin aclosed compartment adapted to contain a volatilizable liquid, acondenser` unit havingA a central vapor .chamber communicating with saidclosed compartment and an annular condenser chamber, a rotary ejectorarranged to withdraw vapor from said vapor chamber .and eject.itintosaid condenser chamber,

a motor for operating saidejector, means for providing a vacuum in thesystem, and means governed by the action produced by .the ejector forcontrolling the operation of rawing va or from said i lll densed liquidfrom said condensing chamber to said ejector and an ejector arranged towithdraw. air from said system.

. 6. Ina refrigerating apparatus of the class described, a refrigeratorunit having a closed compartment for a volatilizable liquid, a condenserunit' having a vapor chamber communicating with said closed compartment,and having a condenser cham .ber,.means' for withdrawing vapor from saidvapor compartment and compressing it in lil said condensercompartment,condenser coils in said condenser compartment, a water `ejector forwithdrawing air from said `recompartment, and having a condenserchamdescribed, a refrigerator unit having a.

ejector in said vapor compartment, means for returning condensed aqueousliquid from said condenser compartment Vdirect to the' interior of saidrotor, and automatic means for controlling the action of the ejector.

A8. In a refrigerating apparatus .of the class described, a refrigeratorunit hav' a closed compartment for a volatiliza le liquid, a condenserunit having a vapor chamber communicating v with said closed ber v.means for withdrawing vapor from said va or chamber and condensi it inthe con ensin chamber, an air suctlon device for pro ucing a vacuum in`the g, system, means control ed by the temperature in the refrigeratingunit for governing the action of said air suction meansna motor foroperating said vapor withdrawing and oom ressmg means, and meanscontrolled by t e vacuumA reduced within the system for startin anstopping said motor.

9. In re rigerating apparatus of the class j ournale closed compartmentfor a volatilizable liquid, a condenser unit having a central vaporchamber communicating with said closed compartment and having an annularcondenser chamber surrounding said vapor chamber, there beina-cylindrical wall separating said cham ers provided with a' thickenedportion atv its upper edge having diffuser assages, a hollow rotaryejector (I) in said vapor chamber having ejector passa passages, an

s aligning with said diffuser a ipeleading from the bottom of the conenser chamber to the interior of said rotor. v

10. In refrigerating apparatus of the class described, a refrigeratorunit havin a closed compartment for a volatiliza le liquid, a condenserunit having a central vapor suction lchamber andan annular condensingchamber, and a cylindric wall between said chamber having an annularseries of diffuser passages in the upper part thereof, a hollow rotorrotatably mounted in said vapor chamber4 and havln an enlarged upperportion provided wit ejector passages aligning with said diffuserpassages, a ipe connection leading from the closed re rigeratorcompartment to the portion of the vapor4 casin outside the rotor, andapipe connection rom the condenser cham-ber to the interior of the rotor.

In testimony whereof, I aix my signature. l

p EDWIN R. SAGE.

Witness:

' ALBERT H. CARRILL.

